Ben Roethlisberger finds a way to win -- at everything

"Any time that you get a little pump fake, the more realistic it is, the more the defenders are going to bite on it. It happened in the Super Bowl on the one to Santonio [Holmes]," he said, referring to the 40-yard catch and carry that set up the winning touchdown. "I pumped on it and everyone came flying up and he was open. I bet it happens at least once a game where you can affect multiple defensive players by doing that."

The biggest knocks on Big Ben -- that he holds onto the ball too long and sometimes takes unnecessary hits -- are also some of his biggest strengths. He's a tough quarterback in a tough city.

"People have their knocks, that's fine," he said. "If I don't hold onto the ball so long, some of those touchdowns don't happen either. Pittsburgh likes me because they say I'm tough, I'm nitty-gritty. I may not be the prettiest quarterback back there but you know what, you get it done."

And it comes back to the hands and the incredible athleticism. His agents, cousins Ryan and Bruce Tollner, have seen it for years. They've spent their lives around top athletes -- Ryan's a former quarterback at California; Bruce's dad, Ted, was USC's football coach -- but they've seen some things from Ben that have left them rubbing their eyes.

They've seen him play as a fill-in in a competitive softball game and, in five at-bats, effortlessly pump five home runs over the fence -- the only five of the game.

They've seen him shoot around with the Phoenix Suns, at the invitation of his buddy Steve Nash, and even beat ex-Suns forward Shawn Marion in a three-point contest.

And they've seen Roethlisberger's epic ping-pong battles with his dad, that ball just a little white blur.

"Anyone that spends any time around Ben ultimately will get frustrated because they'll lose in anything they compete with him in," Ryan Tollner said. "Any little game he comes up with -- which is part of his personality, you'll play games all day long -- he'll win. It's quite humbling."

Martin Nance, a receiver on the Steelers' practice squad and one of Roethlisberger's favorite targets at Miami of Ohio, knows this. He remembers a college game at Colorado State when Roethlisberger scrambled for an eternity -- 15 seconds, later verified by the game footage -- before throwing him a 30-yard strike.

"He scrambled for so long, the home crowd started to boo their own defense," Nance said. "I can remember losing my defender three or four times. Eventually, I found an open spot and stood there and waited for him to work his magic."